There are so many best friends that I am thankful for this year on June 8th, also known as, “Best Friends Day”!

I have my best friend from elementary school, Maegan, who I can go weeks without talking to and when I pick up the phone and call it’s like we just talked yesterday. I have my best friend Pamela, who I grew up with and spent almost everyday after school with. I have my best friend Molly, who has been there through my toughest life moments and was my maid of honor when I got married. All of these women mean a lot of me and keep me grounded to my life back home.

Of course, I also have my best friend Cait, who I met while my husband was walking our dog and who has been a constant help in my new “marine dependent” life.

I can always talk about deployment and field operations with my other friends, but it takes a lot of explaining and they try but still don’t really understand. The second I tell Cait about these things she laughs and we rant and we both feel much better. I know I helped her get through her husband’s deployment and I am so thankful I have her to help me get through my husband’s current deployment. When I am worried she listens to my fears, and lets me complain about things I have no control over with a non-judmental ear. She also lets me know when it’s time to put on my big girl panties and suck it up!

While my husband is deployed I have a lot more free time on my hands and Cait is always there to include me in her plans with her husband. They’ve brought me on shopping trips to Raleigh and countless outings to the beach and for that I am very thankful. Neither of us can cook for less than 4 people (our husbands’ single friends love us) so she invites me over for dinner very often since I don’t cook very much while I’m alone. Of course friendship isn’t just about what a friend can do for me, but more about the feeling that you are not alone in your struggles. I’m reminded of a favorite quote, “Joy shared is joy multiplied, while a sorrow shared is sorrow divided”. We revel in each others’ joy (homecomings!!) and help bear the burden of each others’ load together (long deployment nights spent worrying). And who else will look at me and say, “Ooh-Rah”,  with sweat pouring down their face when we have a great workout at the gym?

Don’t get me wrong, I am very thankful for all the spouses I’ve made friends with!

It’s just that Cait and I share that special something that will keep us friends even when my husband and I move back to Maine and are once again considered civilians. She’s told me time and again if I ever missed this crazy life I could always come visit her at another duty station. She will always be on my Christmas card list, and I will always think of her when I lay my head down at night and review all the reasons that I’m blessed in this life.

She’s not just a friend while my husband is active duty, she is a friend I will cherish and love for the rest of my days. I can only thank the Marine Corps for bringing us together.